Collaborative Research on Communal Spaces in Nima: Reflections on Accra’s Urban History, with Learnings for Professional Planners Report for the American Planning Association’s International Division Victoria Okoye PhD Candidate in Architecture, School of Architecture, University of Sheffield Arts Tower, 9th Floor Western Bank, Sheffield, UK S10 2TN
[email protected] Executive Summary Accra is a rapidly urbanizing West African city where urban growth and demands for space far outpace local authorities’ ability to accommodate present urban development needs. Accra’s dominant urban imaginary1 aspires toward a world-class, “modern” city – a dominant vision for urban development that is deeply informed by the histories of colonial and post-independent planning. Today, many urban dwellers live in densely situated urban environments, and available community spaces such as streets, alleyways, sidewalk pavements, and open spaces are utilized in everyday life as an essential, yet limited resource. Residents claim and inhabit these sites for private life, public life, and livelihood, yet government authorities’ maps, designs, and plans do not capture the magnitude and spectrum of these activities, which are part of residents’ valuable landscape of community spaces. This report to the American Planning Association’s International Division contextualizes historic and contemporary planning challenges in Accra, Ghana and describes my PhD research project that attempts to critically and ethically situate itself through a collaborative approach with a local organization and participatory methods. From mid-January through August 2019, I was in Accra working with the youth-focused NGO Spread-Out Initiative (SOI) based in Nima, and we conducted research on youth’s experiences in specific community spaces.